[“Leave here.”]
“Ah——!”
The headache woke Noah from her coma.
She raised her hand to rub her temples, feeling as if a steel needle were constantly stirring her brain.
Noah gently shook her head, trying to relieve the inexplicable headache.
The dim light reflected her pale face as she gradually regained consciousness.
Through hazy eyes, Noah realized this looked like a laboratory.
The room was small but fully equipped with experimental apparatus.
She rubbed her eyes and looked around again.
On the right wall hung a screen displaying [A0413].
Noah stared at the laboratory in confusion, subconsciously thinking, ‘Who am I?’
[Noah.]
My name is Noah…?
Then where is this?
Noah looked at the laboratory with a bewildered expression.
She inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity here, but where this was and what her identity was—she couldn’t recall any of it.
No good…
My head hurts…
I can’t remember…
Rubbing her forehead, Noah slowly stood up.
She looked up at the door of the room.
The door was open, with nothing blocking her.
Noah cautiously glanced outside the door.
The corridor was empty.
She first picked up a ruler from a shelf in the room, poked it out through the doorway, and only after confirming that everything was fine did she step forward.
It should be fine…
Before the words faded, a red beam of light slid straight down from the top of the doorway.
Like a hot knife cutting through butter, the light effortlessly sliced Noah from head to toe.
She even maintained her previous pose until blood and organs began to spill from both sides.
Noah’s body collapsed to the floor like melted cheese, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
The door’s mechanism let out a routine beep, then fell silent again.
She was dead.
[Being resurrected from death has never been a pleasant experience.]
Pain!
Extreme pain!
As if her body had been cut in half, Noah’s sanity instantly shattered under the agony.
She felt her body trembling continuously, every pore seeming to cry out.
This pain, emanating from the marrow of her bones, was utterly irresistible.
It even tortured Noah until she passed out.
After an unknown amount of time, when Noah regained consciousness again, she found that her clothes were soaked through with cold sweat.
Noah panted heavily, trying to regain control of her body from her numb limbs.
She stared at the door of the room in shock, having no idea what had just happened.
Did I… die just now…?
The scene before her death flashed in her mind.
Noah even remembered the feeling of being cut open by the laser.
This hellish image made her heart pound, and then she realized that this was impossible.
If I died just now… then… why am I still here…?
Was it an illusion?
Or am I dreaming?
I’m dreaming…
I must be dreaming.
Noah comforted herself while approaching the door again.
Although the door was open, Noah didn’t dare go through.
The memory of death constantly stimulated her nerves, preventing her from taking that step.
Noah gently extended her finger, reaching toward the doorway at the slowest speed.
The red laser instantly severed Noah’s finger.
She flinched back several steps, crying out in pain, “Ah… damn it! What kind of place is this?!”
Noah tried hard to calm herself down, then looked up at the top of the door.
She saw that the laser slid down from the top, but she wasn’t sure if there was a gap in its cycle.
Regardless, Noah decided to try again.
She again extended her finger toward the doorway, deliberately provoking the laser to drop.
This time, she didn’t control the distance properly, and the laser sliced off half her palm.
Blood splattered, and the light disappeared at the bottom.
Noah immediately seized the moment.
She stepped forward during the laser’s gap and jumped out of the doorway as fast as she could.
Although she lost her balance and fell to the ground, Noah breathed a sigh of relief, feeling she had escaped with her life.
I made it out!
Finally escaped!
Noah was about to bandage her severed hand when an alarm suddenly blared.
Noah listened blankly as the alarm began to announce, then stood up in shock.
” [Detection of escaped experiment failure. Initiating elimination protocol immediately.] “
” [Repeat: Detection of escaped experiment failure. Initiating elimination protocol immediately.] “
The piercing alarm echoed through the empty corridor.
As the alert voice ended, a laser grid emerged from the depths of the hallway, advancing at a rapid pace with an unstoppable force.
Oh… no…
Realizing what was happening, Noah scrambled to her feet, not even pausing to bandage her hand.
She sprinted forward with all her might, cursing the laboratory in her mind, but not daring to slow down.
“Damn it! Damn it! What blasphemous crime did I commit?! Why is this happening to me?!”
At the end of the corridor was a tightly closed door with a palm recognition fingerprint lock beside it.
Noah ran to the door as fast as she could and slammed her hand against it several times.
The door didn’t budge.
She looked down at the fingerprint lock and, without thinking, pressed her hand onto it.
Noah slapped the palm icon on the screen, yelling involuntarily,
“Open up! Open the door—! Please give me a way out! Stop messing with me!”
Noah was ready to die, because she didn’t think her palm print would work on this facility.
But to her surprise, the lock recognized it!
Seeing the door open, Noah darted through to the other side in a single bound.
The laser grid behind her advanced only to the doorway before gradually extinguishing and disappearing.
Noah finally let out a long sigh.
She plopped down on the ground, intending to rest and calm her heartbeat.
Noah felt that this kind of exercise was too intense for her; she couldn’t take it.
After resting a bit, she stood up again.
Noah pressed herself against the wall as much as possible to avoid stepping on any strange traps.
She walked forward slowly, checking her surroundings, determined to leave this dangerous corridor as soon as possible.
Despite her utmost caution, she still got caught.
An infrared beam scanned her footsteps, and the alarm sounded again.
Noah looked up in slight shock, muttering in a resigned tone,
“Come on… Are you serious?”
Amid the alarm, a laser grid appeared ahead of Noah, sealing the entire exit of the corridor and advancing rapidly toward her.
Then, the alarm sounded again with that cold mechanical voice:
” [Detection of unauthorized personnel intrusion. Preparing to clean the corridor. All test subjects and staff, please return to your designated rooms immediately.] “
” [Repeat: Detection of unauthorized personnel intrusion. Preparing to clean the corridor. All test subjects and staff, please return to your designated rooms immediately.] “
Run back!
Noah immediately made the correct decision, but it was too late.
The corridor door suddenly slammed shut with the alarm.
In Noah’s desperate gaze, the mechanical voice spoke again:
” [Cleaning initiated. Corridor door has been closed. Staff who failed to evacuate in time, please use emergency keys.] “
” [Repeat: Cleaning initiated. Corridor door has been closed. Staff who failed to evacuate in time, please use emergency keys.] “
Damn it!
Damn it!
Noah pounded furiously on the corridor door as she listened to the mechanical voice.
Needless to say, she definitely didn’t have the emergency key it mentioned.
And she didn’t know who designed the corridor, but the other side didn’t even have a fingerprint lock.
Noah slammed the door frantically, shouting in despair,
“Open up! Open the door! Someone save me, anyone! I don’t want to die like this!!!”